


You Were Never Apart of The Equation

by Infinite_Vibrance (gindokiis)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Cheating, F/M, High School, Homophobia, M/M, Tony's an idiot, and Steve is also an idiot, and lots of arguments to follow, and they're both idiots together, oh man this will be angsty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-21
Updated: 2014-05-10
Packaged: 2018-01-20 06:35:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1500383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gindokiis/pseuds/Infinite_Vibrance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony Stark was never meant to fall in love with Steve Rogers. He had a company to inherit, a father to make proud, a girlfriend to be happy with. The equation was so perfect! Then Steve just had to come in with his pretty smile and gorgeous blue eyes and Tony's equation for perfection fell to pieces.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Purgatory

**Author's Note:**

> I was debating whether to post this or a oneshot collection, then I was like "NO I MUST NEED WANT HIGHSCHOOL AU" and so yeah here you have it. This'll be my first multi-chapter SteveTony fic so I hope you enjoy (:

Tony Stark wore a mighty layer of armor. One that protected him from everyone else. One that guarded his secrets so heavily that no one, not his father or Pepper or even Tony himself, could find them.

He clung to the armor as if it was the only thing keeping him afloat.

Only on special occasions did he engage in the painstaking yet _so utterly relieving_ process of peeling off the armor, one by one, to shed his fake skin for a more natural... comfortable feeling.

Once he was bare and naked to the world, Tony plunged head first into Purgatory and for once in all his 17 years of living, _felt real_. 

* * *

 

Sweaty bodies convened upon the dance floor. Multi-colored strobe lights peppered the scene. Alcohol buzzed through Tony’s veins. The bass pumped straight to Tony’s bones as he pressed his body closer to his newest conquest. Two, big hands were held firmly against his hips, fingers digging into his skin. Bodies pressed together with only a few layers of clothing distinguishing their dancing from sex. Tony groaned as his partner behind him rolled his hips.

“Your hips most definitely do not lie, buddy.” Tony flipped around, brown meeting blue, arms falling to rest on his partner’s shoulders.

The blond smiled, a little tipsy, pulling Tony closer. “Thank you? You’re a much better dancer, though.”

Tony chuckled. “Oh you shouldn’t sell yourself so short. You’re doing marvelous things with your body right now.”

His fingers played with a few blond whips of hair by the nape of his neck. Tony was mentally cheering at his good fortune. Purgatory normally had a lot of great guys to get drunk and fuck around with but the guy he was dancing with tonight was _the_ ultimate package. Tall, blond, and handsome—just how Tony loved them. Tony had spared a glance at him for a second and when their eyes met, the guy had smiled and Tony knew he was the one.

The one to fuck, that is.

Tony leaned forward, lips pressing to the shell of the other’s ear. “Wanna slip away?”

The blond gulped. “Yeah. Where—?”

“—There’s a few spare rooms upstairs for couples who wanna do the dirty dirty. And I really want to do the dirty dirty with you.” It’d be a crime to walk out of this club and _not_ get all jiggy with it under the sheets with his new eye candy.

Blond and Beautiful blushed, eyes glancing down to their connected hands, before he smiled. A sheepish sort of smile that Tony would have never thought possible of the guy if he hadn’t seen it there and then.

Then Tony thought _‘What would those lips look like covered with my cum’_ and he was hauling ass to get upstairs for a room.

Didn’t take too much effort to find one. Mostly because Tony shoved a couple of Benjamins at a bouncer saying: “Here, go crazy. I know I’m about to.”

Tony kicked the door closed behind him. Lips crashed upon lips. Hands fumbled eagerly at clothing, desperately wanting to grasp skin. Tony ran his nails down the blond’s back, loving the little gasp that popped out of the other’s lips. Tony reached up again for a kiss before a name breathed upon his lips:

“Steve.”

Steve looked down, that goofy smile still on his face. His hair all messed up and his chest so perfectly unmarked, it made Tony’s teeth itch to dirty it up.

Tony licked his lips, hands falling to grab Steve’s ass. “Tony. Pleasure to fuck you.”

Somehow, in a flurry of kisses and gropings, they made it to the bed. Tony hovered over Steve, pressing hot kisses along his jaw. Steve moaned, gripping Tony’s shoulders as teeth sunk into his flesh, hard enough to break skin. He withered under Tony’s touches, completely succumbing to the pleasure burning through his entire system.

Tony chuckled, low and raspy. He nipped at Steve’s neck. “Pretty little moan you’ve got there. But how are you at screaming?”

Steve flushed, biting his lower lip. “I, uh—Never. First time...” He gulped, looking at Tony with an adorable hue of baby blues. “With a man. Or anyone, really.”

Such a confession felt like someone had come up and kicked Tony in the gut. “You have to be shitting me...” Tony shook his head in disbelief. “Are you telling me I’ll be the first man to have his way with you? Good God how is that even possible? Look at you.” He waved his hand. “You’re fucking gorgeous. How have you not done the do with someone?”

Steve threw an arm over his face, groaning in embarrassment. Tony could see the heat flush against Steve’s neck and got the overwhelming urge to bite it. “Should have kept my mouth shut,” he mumbled. “I never really, I dunno, wanted to. I guess. Until tonight.”

“When you saw me?” Tony smirked.

Steve pulled his arm away and smiled. “Until I met you.”

Understandable. Tony could feel his ego steadily rising, along with his erection because _hot damn_ if it wasn’t a turn-on charting out unmapped territory. Steve pulled Tony down for another dirty, sloppy kiss. Tony nibbled and bit and sucked on Steve’s tongue. His hand slipped between their bodies, gripping Steve’s cock. He stroked furiously. Steve gasped into Tony’s mouth, hips bucking and squirming with pleasure.

Tony smirked, tugging on Steve’s bottom lip. “You like that? Don’t hold back. Lemme hear those moans of yours, baby.”

Steve was quickly to comply. His nails dug into Tony’s shoulders. His mouth fell into an open ‘O’, eyes half-lidded and fluttering. “T-Tony. T-Tony. Oh God, Tony—” Steve repeated the name like a sweet, sweet mantra.

Tony licked his lips. He wanted more. Wanted to see Steve fall apart. Wanted Steve to cling and clasp and hang onto Tony like he was the only thing that mattered in the tiny space of time they shared. Wanted to make Steve’s first time the _best time_. He was an overachiever that way.

“Yeah, that’s good. That’s so good. Your moans are going straight to my dick.” Tony gave Steve another jerk of the wrist. “I’m gonna do something even better. Gonna wrap my lips around your pretty little cock and suck you dry. Taste you on my lips and tongue and swallow you whole.” Tony whispered into Steve’s ear. He nibbled on the lobe, releasing a breathy chuckle. “How does that sound?”

All he got in response was a strangled moan and he guessed that was Steve’s equivalent of ‘Yes fucking hop on that and suck on my cock’ so Tony was more than happier to oblige.

He kissed down Steve’s stomach, sucked and nipped wherever he pleased, heading lower and lower until he was nose-pressed to Steve’s cock. He gripped the base of Steve’s cock, taking a second to admire the work of art before him. Goodness gracious Steve was thick. Tony felt his cock twitch in anticipation.

_‘He could probably rip me in half and I’m terrified by how much I enjoy that thought.’_

Tony licked his lips. He would have been lying if he hadn’t thought about a million and a half times about how Steve would taste. What sort of sounds he’d make with Tony’s lips around him—and he was going to be damned if he wanted any longer to find out.

“You’re gonna love this.” Tony promised before he took Steve all the way in. He had to hold Steve down from choking him, the reaction was damn instantaneous. Fucking _hell_ , Steve was not small. Tony almost choked—almost—trying to take all of him in. He should have gone slower, given himself time to readjust, but Tony was the sort of guy that went all in and all out no matter what he did. And that also included giving fantastic blowjobs to really cute blonds.

Having Tony’s lips surrounding him felt like someone had inserted 1,000 volts of electricity into his system. It felt so damn good. The feeling was far more intense than any wet dream could come up with. Honestly, after this, Steve highly doubted he could go back to just using his hand to get himself off. His hips bucked in response to the sudden heat around his cock, back arching, head thrown back in ecstasy, and knuckles turned ghost white from gripping the bedsheets to hard.

“Tony! Fuck!” 100 points to Tony for making Steve curse.

He went to work on Steve’s cock, hollowing out his cheeks, taking Steve inch by inch. Tony went slow, at first. A steady rhythm that had Steve’s legs wobbling and his fingers grasping through Tony’s hair. The pleasant tug on his hair was one of Tony’s more innocent kinks. He moaned wantonly around Steve’s cock, his hand falling to his own forgotten erection.

Steve whined, lifting his head up to see Tony at work. Good God it was the greatest thing he’s ever seen since sliced bread. Tony took him in _so deep_. Impressive, to the point that in any other situation Steve might have given Tony a standing ovation.

And then he realized that was really weird because who gives someone a standing ovation for giving good blowjobs?

Tony popped off Steve’s dick, his lips glistening with precum. He lazy stroked Steve. “Problem?”

Steve swallowed. “Just... You—Can you go faster?”

“Technically yes. Now whether or not you _want_ me to go faster. That’s a different story.” Yes, Tony was being a little shit on purpose. No there was really no regrets about it.

It looked like there was a war being raged within Steve’s head between his desires and his pride. Finally, something broke and Steve swallowed. “I want you... to suck my cock.?”

“Yeah?” Tony increased the pace of his stroking just a bit. “Keep going, Steve.”

“Want you to take up... every inch. Hard and fast and needy. I want you to swallow... everything I give you.” Steve’s face was a horrible flush. His pupils were blown and dark with desire. Precome oozed out of his cock.

Tony shuddered. Good God defiling virgins were the best. “ Your wish is my command, Steve.” Tony returned to sucking Steve’s cock with a renewed passion. Steve was very verbal about his appreciation to Tony for following through with his demands.

He was close. So close. Steve could feel the familiar tightening in his stomach. His breath quickened, his fingers spasmed, and he was _so close to the edge_. Then Tony did something fantastic with his tongue and Steve was gone. His legs jerked and his toes curled as Steve came; hard.

He watched with fluttering eyes as Tony drank up every last bit of him, greedily. Like Steve’s orgasm was the rain needed after 50 years of drought. Tony felt his own orgasm approach, spilling into his hand. He let out a rasp moan, pumping himself through his climax.

When all was said and done, Steve laid boneless on the bed. He felt spent and worn and lazy but oh so good. Man, if he knew oral sex was so fantastic he would have tried it out a long time ago.

Tony crawled up so he was lying on top of Steve. His hair was all disheveled and his lips were worried red. Their lips met again as if the magnetic attraction between them was too strong to deny. This kiss was different from the ones prior. It was slow and careful. Steve cupped the nape of Tony’s neck, taking deliberate thumb strokes against the skin. Tony sighed against his lips.

“Tired?” he asked.

Steve smiled. “No.”

“Great,” Tony smiled back. “Because I have so much more to teach you.”

* * *

 

Sex with Steve was... well, Tony couldn’t really find the right word to explain it because a lot of them weren’t enough to describe how fucking fantastic it was to have Steve bang his brains out. Beginner be damned. Once Steve got into the rhythm shy boy was gone and in came confident man with awesome hip thrusts and totally eargasm worthy moans. Tony was pretty sure they could have broken the bed about five times and he really didn’t give two damns because that was the best fuck of his life.

Now it was 3 in the morning. Nothing new, honestly. Tony rarely slept as it was. He thinks he passed out after the fifth round of _Steve bangs Tony out of orbit_ and probably got a few hours there. Tony was propped against the headboard with Steve still clinging to him, arms wrapped around his middle and head glued to Tony’s hips.

He took a chance and ran his hand through Steve’s hair. “You were great,” he whispered, a painful smile breaking the surface. It was a shame that he’d have to leave someone like Steve behind. In another world, Tony could see them as something. Fuck buddies, maybe? One that met up for casual Starbucks dates and held hands and talked about everything and nothing because boundaries were burned like bridges to the ground. Their relationship could never be a reality, though.

For life wasn’t all that compassionate, and Tony had been wearing his suit of armor for so long, trying to live without it would be suicidal.

“I wish I could stay here. Really not in the mood to leave so soon but...” Tony’s father would be home soon and Purgatory was a good three hours away from Manhattan. No doubt Happy was waiting outside for him, sitting patiently. Never asking questions unless absolutely necessary. God bless Happy.

With a sigh, Tony leaned forward and pressed his lips to Steve’s forehead. “See you around.” It was an empty promise, Tony knew that. Didn’t mean he still couldn’t say it. He slowly pried himself out of Steve’s arms, ready to get up when they came back around him and tried to pull him down onto the bed.

“No go...” Steve muttered sleepily, nuzzling into Tony’s back. “Stay wiff me...”

The boy knew how to make demands. A tempting one, too. Tony would have loved to just fall back into bed and cuddle until seven in the morning but he didn’t have that luxury. “Sorry, pal. My ride’s here and I gotta go. Nice meeting ya and fucking ya and all that jazz.” He tried to get out of Steve’s grip again to no avail. Dammit was this kid on steroids?

Steve, a little more coherent, pulled himself up. “Wait... why do you have to go?” He squinted at the alarm clock. “It’s 3 in the morning! Go to bed, silly.”

“Can’t. Like I said. My ride’s here and I gotta go. There’s no reason for me to stay behind,” Tony said flippantly. He promptly ignored the flash of hurt that skimmed through Steve’s eyes.

“Huh? But... I thought...”

And now came to time to cut all ties. “That’s right. You thought, and your thought was wrong. Look, you’re cute man. 10/10 people would agree banging you is worth it. But we were just a fling. No strings attached, sort of deal.” Tony cocked an eyebrow. “Understand?”

No, Steve didn’t understand. His mind couldn’t wrap around how they just had amazing sex and now Tony wanted to leave. Him. Alone. Steve felt a piece of him corrode into ash. The burning taste of rejection after giving away something so personal as his virginity numbed him to the core.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. For getting so attached to someone who treated sex the same way a person treats air.

Easy to access, easy to forget.

Refusing to look back at Steve, he really didn’t want to see the pain he inflicted, Tony headed for the door. “Bye, Steve.” He bit back using any words that sparked the idea of seeing each other again. Those words always left a void filled with unfulfilled promises. An open door inviting the possibility of future encounters.

Tony Stark couldn’t afford future encounters.

A heavy lump formed in Steve’s throat. He felt a burn in his eyes, his fingers balling into fists. “Can I—I’m not going to see you again, am I?”

Tony’s hand froze against the door handle. He rolled back his shoulders, crafting a fake smile. The one he used to divert the flow of conversation. The one he used to hide his true thoughts and feelings.

“Yeah. Probably not. Oh well, shit happens. Right?” Tony’s face hurt from smiling so much. He stepped outside the room, desperately trying to erase the look of ‘kicked-puppy-right-off-a-cliff-look’ Steve was sporting. It should be freaking illegal to make such a face and make it so well.

Tony closed the door behind him. And with that, all memories of Steve. Because really, they were never going to see each other again. There was no point getting hung up on an unlikely.

Tony Stark had another life to live and that life did not—nor would it ever—include Steve.

* * *

 

Outside of Purgatory, Tony Stark led a wonderful and blessed life. He was the heir to a multi-billion enterprise headed by the infamous Howard Stark. He was class president. Voted most likely to rule the world senior year. Exuded confidence, charisma, and popularity that made you either hate him or love him—and most people chose the latter. He was dating the seemingly unattainable Pepper Potts, his sharp-witted and absolutely stunning Vice President.

Life was perfect for him, except for one... itsy bitsy... teenie weenie... little thing.

Tony Stark was gay.

Now, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Tony had long since come to terms with his sexuality after many, many years of self-destructive behavior resulting from heavy amounts of self-depreciation and pity. It didn’t help that he had to suffer through constant discussions with Howard about how a man was meant to be with a woman, that homosexuality was not only a _weakness_ , but _disgusting_ , and _utterly humiliating_.

Yeah. Tony had scrapped coming out to Howard as a Christmas present a long time ago.

Some days it was tiring. Wearing a mask that didn’t fit right. That carried too heavy of a burden for his shoulders to bear.

But he couldn’t risk losing it all. He couldn’t risk being a failure to his father again.

So he lied. He lied so much and so effortlessly, Tony couldn’t discern fiction from truth anymore. He kept everyone at a comfortable distance—even Pepper—and electrified the iron fence that separated him from everyone else.

He was fine this way, really. Don’t mind the jagged edges or the cracking pieces of his soul that wither away with each day that comes by pretending to be someone he’s not.

Tony Stark is just _fine_.

* * *

 

A full month had passed since Tony’s encounter with Ste—Hella Fine Blond. As far as he was concerned, Hella Fine Blond's image and body and _Hella Fineness_  was dragged and dropped into the trash bin for permanent deletion.

And that was great.

Because Purgatory was a dream that Tony had to wake up from sooner or later.

It was 6:30 on a Monday morning. Tony’s head was pressed nose deep into his pillow. Some song by AC/DC was blasting through the airwaves. No doubt it was Jarvis’s not so subtle way of saying Tony should have been up half an hour ago. But genius’s shouldn’t have to play within the lines of human habituates, right?

Especially for school.

Jarvis peered down at the sleeping form of his master, barely containing an eye roll. “Sir. If you do not get up now Miss. Potts will be very angry with you.”

“Five more minutes...” Tony mumbled into the pillow.

“You asked for that half an hour ago, Sir.”

“Half an hour mooooore!”

Desperate times called for desperate measures. “This will pain you more than it will me, Sir.” Jarvis grabbed the ends of the comforter and gave it a quick yank. Tony screamed at the lack of warmth and curled into a ball. Jarvis sighed, carefully tucking the comforter into his arms. “Sir, I implore you to get up. Now.”

Tony cracked open one eye to glare at Jarvis. “Couldn’t you have asked in a nicer way?”

“I did. Multiple times.” Jarvis said exasperatedly.

Slowly, Tony pushed himself up into a sitting position. There was a string of drool hanging off the side of his face. His hair was all tussled up with bed hair amplified to the 70th power. Tony yawned obnoxiously. “Can I just skip school today? We all know I don’t really need it—”

“—Miss Potts has told me to dissuade you from any and all attempts to skip yet another day of school.” Jarvis said. “She also said it was quite alright to threaten you with no homemade chocolate chip muffins for a week.”

Tony gasped. “That monster.”

“Breakfast will be waiting for you downstairs, Sir.” Jarvis turned on his heel and left Tony gaping and fumbling for clothes.

How dare Pepper threaten to ban Jarvis’s freaking fantastic muffins? Was she the devil? No. Worse. She was a female.

Tony made it downstairs in record time. Waiting for him at the island was a steaming plate of bacon, eggs, and waffles (because toast was for losers). As per usual, Tony’s dad wasn’t there. Not like Tony expected Howard to be sitting at the table with a mug of coffee and the newspaper opened to the comics section.

Although the sight would have been hilarious nonetheless.

Tony literally inhaled his breakfast, much to Jarvis’s pleasure.

“Jarvis, stop smirking like that. It’s creeping me out.”

“I have no idea what you are referring to, Sir.”

“Remember the only reason I keep you around is because you make banging waffles,” Tony said, waving his fork around like a madman.

Jarvis’s smirk grew an inch. “I shall commit the fact to memory then.”

_'Smartass'_ , Tony thought as he downed three-quarters of his coffee. Then again Jarvis’s dry sense of humor was perhaps Tony’s favorite thing about the man. Well, second favorite thing. First favorite thing was his waffles. He would have married the man if he, you know, wasn’t dating Pepper. Speaking of Pepper, she just texted him in loud, angry caps demanding to know where he was. Only to show up in his kitchen five seconds later looking a cross between furious and constipated.

Though Tony would never say the last part because Pepper would have strangled him.

“Oh hey Pep! Looking great. New mini-skirt? Totally brings out your thighs—I mean eyes.” Tony smiled, waggling his eyebrows.

Pepper rolled her eyes. “You’re ridiculous. How late did you stay up till this time, huh? One, two o’clock in the morning?”

“Uhhhh, more like... three? Three-thirty? I don’t know, what time does the sun start to rise?”

“Tony!”

“I’m kidding, Pepsie!” Pepper scowled. “Okay, no Pepsie? Worth a shot. I went to bed super early this time. Twelve on the dot. I refused to wake up even if the cure for cancer popped into my head because you want me to value my sleep time.”

“I’m only doing it for your own good, Tony.” Pepper sighed, folding her arms. “If I don’t look out for you—”

“—No, see, it’s okay. Because you don’t have to look out for me.” Tony quickly cut in. “Because sleep is for the weak and no normal human being actually functions well with all 8 hours of sleep.” Tony got up from the island and made a go for his bag. “Oh man, look at the time. Five past seven, we’re going to miss homeroom and you know me; I’m the king of punctuality.”

Pepper was glaring holes into the back of Tony’s head. Well fine, he sort of deserved it for brushing off her concern. But he didn’t need it. Besides, she still believed Tony stayed up late inventing in his workshop. Which he did.

When he wasn’t out doing... other things.

He knew he was going to pay for his flippant attitude later. Probably in the form of some scathing lecture or ban from something sugary and sweet. It was a necessary evil, of course. Having a Mother Hen Pepper over your shoulder got tiring after the first five seconds.

Pepper and Tony shuffled into Tony’s car, a nice little Benz he got for his 16th birthday, and sped off the school.

“Tony I swear if you put on Metallica—”

Tony did just that. “Sorry Pepper! What was that? I can’t hear you over how hardcore I am.”

The rest of the car ride consisted of the two arguing about Tony’s—fantastic, Tony said, freaking obnoxious, Pepper shot back—music taste. By the time they got to school homeroom had ended and everyone was heading to first period.

“No worries. I’ll just hack into the system and change our attendance.”

“No you won’t—”

“—Too late,” Tony smirked, holding up his phone for Pepper to see that the damage was already done. Pepper’s scowl deepened. She hoisted up her backpack and stalked into school with a confused Tony at her heels. “Come on, Pep! I was doing us a favor! Don’t be so grouchy!”

They reached first period just in time. Tony took a spot in the back, along with Pepper, and spent five minutes trying to get back on her good side. Not an easy task, as Tony will complain about, but promises of taking Pepper out to her favorite restaurant tonight helped to soothe the anger.

“And I can order whatever I want—” Pepper said.

“—Of course—”

“—And I want the entire dessert page minus anything with strawberries—”

“—Gotcha. Allergic reactions are so unattractive.”

Pepper cracked a smirk. “Such a way with words you have.” She leaned over and gave Tony a quick peck on the cheek.

Tony tried to ignore the sick lurch in the pit of his stomach. “You know me. Book definition of charismatic asshole.”

“Now class,” their teacher, Mrs. Lawrence, clapped her hands together to gather their attention. “I’m happy to announce that we’ll be having a new student join our class today.”

“This should be fun,” Tony whispered, throwing an arm over Pepper’s shoulder. Pepper jabbed him in the stomach with her elbow.

“Be nice,” she whispered back.

Be nice. Yeah, sure. Maybe when pigs fly. It’s been a while since a new kid entered the class. The last one barely stayed a week because Tony may or may not have rigged their locker to shoot out confetti every time they opened it. Definitely not out of spite. Tony did it only because Rhodey told him he _couldn’t_ and then... well... you know.

“Steve,” Mrs. Lawrence continued, a huge smile on her face. “Come on in, dearie. Don’t be shy.”

Ice formed in the pit of Tony’s stomach. Eyes wide and heart jumping ship into the turbulent pools of anxiety. No, no it couldn’t be that person. A lot of people had the name Steve. Steve was so common like Bob and Frank and... Dave. Everyone knew a Dave!

“Tony...?” Pepper’s eyebrows furrowed. “You alright? Your grip’s kind of...”

“Oh... crap.” Tony hadn’t even realized he was squeezing her shoulder so tightly. “Sorry, Pep. Guess I can’t hold back my excitement over the new guy.” More like his impending dread. No, no, no think logically about this. There was no way in hell Steve would show up here. At Tony’s school. All the way in Manhattan. Nope, not possible.

So Tony’s heart definitely shouldn’t have given out when he saw fucking Steve the-no-longer-virgin walk into class all shy and nervous as fuck.

“Uh, hi.” Steve gave the class a wave. All the girls minus Pepper broke out into whispers. No doubt by the end of the school day word would get out about the hot new blond on the scene.

“He’s cute,” Pepper said offhandedly.

_'Don’t I know it.'_ Tony bit his tongue. His mind was already going back in time to their last encounter and Tony just really hoped Steve didn’t recognize him. Maybe if he hides his face in Pepper’s boobs that’ll save him long enough to formulate a five-step plan on how to forever avoid Steve forever until the day he dies or graduates. Whichever happens first.

_‘Don’t make eye contact. Don’t make eye contact. Don’t make—’_

Brown eyes clashed with blue. It was already over before it began. If the world could have picked any moment to suddenly self-destruct, now would have been the perfect time. Steve’s eyes widened with immediate recognition when he saw Tony. So many emotions flashed through those blue orbs that Tony was ashamed he’d put them all there in the first place. Confusion and doubt and so many questions.

Then Steve’s eyes fell to the arm that was thrown around Pepper’s shoulders and all he saw was heartbreak.

Tony swallowed past the heavy lump in his throat and averted his eyes. Not good. Definitely not good.

“Steve? Are you alright?” Mrs. Lawrence asked.

Steve bit his lip, nodding slowly. “Yeah—Yeah I’m just,” Another glance at Tony that Tony avoided like the plague, “fine.” Steve finished with a broken whisper.

“Okay then. You can take a seat in the back. The empty one by Tony Stark.” She pointed in Tony’s direction.

Tony mentally cursed. Dammit! He should have picked front seats today. Curse the social hierarchy and popularity and the social norm that all cool kids chill in the back. Tony’s fingers dug into Pepper’s shoulder once again, his mind racing with measures and countermeasures and countermeasures for his countermeasures. He was not in panic mode. He was in super-ultra-get-me-the-fuck-out-of-here panic mode.

Steve, who all the world looked like he would rather stand in the front all class than sit in the back, finally gathered up some courage to head towards the back. The entire time his gaze was to the floor, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. He shuffled into his seat quietly, made as much space as he could between himself and Tony, and didn’t give Tony another heartbreaking glance again.

Tony felt like he could finally breathe. Good. Great. Ties severed. Steve got the message loud and clear. Fabulous. Now Tony could stop feeling like a colossal douche-bag who had made it into Fate’s ‘Most Wanted to Screw Over’ List.

Only, the bad thing was, Tony found himself peeking glances at Steve the entire time. They were discrete and secondly but they happened. Each glance caused the empty pit in Tony’s stomach to widen. It was terrible and horrifying and the feeling needed to be squandered out immediately.

Tony Stark had the equation all figured, and Steve was nowhere in the solution.

He might, however, have been a major part of the problem, though. 


	2. Unexpected Events

Steve could proudly say that his life was comprised of a lot of unexpected events. For starters, when Steve was only ten years old he managed to pull a kid out of an overturned bus, earning himself the title of ‘Local Hero’ for the next year and a half. When he hit 15 he grew out of his scrawny chicken boy phase and really beefed out, grew a head taller, and no longer heavily relied on his inhaler. Steve’s Sweet Sixteen rolled around and as a birthday present Steve’s father decided to leave the house and never come back.

And it was only pure coincidence that around that time Steve had finally come out as being gay.

A year later Steve was slowly coming to terms with his... coming out. Wasn’t all that easy, but Sarah, Steve’s mom, always gave Steve a constant stream of support. When Steve felt like his entire world was falling apart, that he was some abomination his father couldn’t even stand to _recognize_ , his mom was there.

For her, Steve would battle 10,000 men. Her kindness and understanding helped him to cope, to move on, and to better accept himself. He still blamed himself for his dad leaving, though. Still hated himself for being so selfish—if he had only stayed quiet. Kept his mouth shut. His mother would still have a husband.

He would still have a dad.

Steve never expected to go to Purgatory on a whim and end up falling head over heels for a certain brunet named Tony Stark. Nor did he really have any plans on losing his virginity, because you know, who has that worked out. And he _never_ calculated in the fact that going to Purgatory would lead to his first ever heartbreak.

Yeah, that was rough.

Then he gets home and the next morning his mom comes in with pancakes and announces they’ll be moving to Manhattan for her new job. Steve held back his complaints about moving, leaving his life behind, leaving Peggy behind, because he knew how much this job meant to his mom. She never said a word about Steve’s dad leaving but Steve knew it took a toll on her in more ways than one.

So they packed up their stuff and moved to Manhattan. Steve hadn’t expected anything new. Maybe a fresh start, perhaps. Someone or something to take his mind off of Tony and how great it felt to be inside Tony and how wonderful it was just to be _near_ Tony.

Walking into his first period class and finding out that not only did he go to school with Tony—his last name was Stark. Why the heck was that so familiar—but Tony was dating someone else.

Someone female.

Steve felt his heart break into 5,000 scattered pieces.

See? Unexpected events were just happening all over the place.

* * *

 

 

Luckily, Steve had managed to spend the entire class not looking at Tony. _Not_ noticing Tony was the real problem. How could someone sit through class without hearing Tony flirting with his girlfriend? Steve definitely wasn’t counting but he was pretty sure Tony’s swear count was somewhere in the 547 area.

Steve tapped the end of his pencil against his desk, eyes forward, trying very hard to block out the random smooching noises Tony was making right beside him. This had to be some sick, sick joke _. ‘I see the guy I want but he’s with another girl.’_ There comes the problem. Did Steve _want_ Tony, or did he want what Tony could give?

Company. Someone who was the same as him and didn’t have to try to empathize without fully understanding his problems.

Such a question was too much to think about on the first day. However, Steve did decide that he was going to at least talk to Tony. Maybe ask a few questions like, ‘Oh yeah, why did you have sex with me if _you’re already dating someone_?’ and ‘Why they hell are you fucking other people when you’re already dating someone?’ and, oh yes, the most important one, _‘Why the fucking hell did you have to make me like you if you're already dating someone?’_

No, Steve was definitely not spiteful.

First period ended a few minutes later. Steve’s palms got all sweaty as he tried to gather up the nerve to talk to Tony. ‘Come on. Man up, Rogers. You can do this—you have to do this.’ Sucking in a breath, Steve rolled back his shoulders and went to talk to Tony...

Only Tony had quickly bolted it for the door, tugging a protesting Pepper along with him. Steve’s shoulders fell and his face crumpled.

Tony didn’t even want to _talk_ to him...

Steve exhaled a deep sigh. “What was I even thinking...?” Tony made it loud and clear that he wanted nothing more to do with Steve. So why should Steve even bother?

With his head held low, Steve grabbed his stuff and focused his mind on other things. Like trying not to get lost to his second period class.

* * *

 

Tony felt like an asshole for about five minutes before he gave himself a pep talk on all the reasons why he shouldn’t feel like an asshole.

“Reason 1: You’re Tony Stark and feeling anything else other than cocky and confident is a cardinal sin.” Tony said to the bathroom mirror. Honestly after that Tony felt like a new man. Better and definitely not feeling guilty about giving Steve the iceberg shoulder (a shoulder ten times colder than a regular cold shoulder).

After his little pep talk, Tony rejoined his friends in the library. It was study hall for Tony—a nice little perk he got for being Howard Stark’s son and, you know, a genius—and he had the period with his two friends Rhodey and Clint. Rhodey’s been his best friend since the sandbox and Clint, well, Tony only kept Clint around for entertainment purposes.

That and it was nice to have someone almost the same level of douchiness as he was.

“So,” Clint was playing Flappy Bird, currently attempting to break his high score of 925. “Heard there’s a hot new piece of meat on the scene. Darcy wouldn’t shut up about it at all during Trig.”

Tony stiffened and Rhodey chuckled, completely unaware of Tony’s sudden uneasiness. “Dude. I don’t think someone should ever be compared to a ‘piece of meat’.”

“S’not me, man! I’m just repeating what I heard. With the way the girls are acting I wouldn’t be surprised if I see a sacrificial altar set up during lunch—Fuck yeah! New high score.” Clint threw his phone on the table, his hands held up in triumph. His high score was now a whopping 960.

“You’re ridiculous, Barton.” Tony smirked. Clint’s excitement helped to ease away some of the awkwardness Tony felt at the mention of Steve. “Though you have a long way to go before you reach Tony Tier.” He held up his phone, waving it in front of Clint’s face. The screen read 974.

“Fuck you, Stark! There’s gonna be a new king of the Flappy Bird and it’s _me_.” With renewed determination, Clint went back to his Flappy Bird domination.

Rhodey shook his head at the two people he dared to call friends. “Can we go back to the new guy?”

“Can we not—?” Tony asked.

“No, no, we can.” Clint said, eyes trained intently on his phone.

Rhodey kept going. “I have the guy in my gym class. His name’s Steve by the way. He’s pretty cool.”

Tony’s knee hit the table; hard.

“Dammit!” Clint cried out, earning him a stern look from the librarian. Tony’s knee jerk had cost him the game. “You so did that on purpose, Stark!” Clint glared.

Tony shrugged his shoulders, a look of innocence painting his face. “I would never try to sabotage you for my own personal gain.”

“Bullshit! I’m calling bullshit!”

“Guys. Guys _chill_. It’s just a game,” Rhodey said exasperatedly. He never understood what made Flappy Bird such a great game. It only served to raise your blood pressure and annoyance level in his eyes.

“It’s a way of _life_ , Rhodes.” Clint defended. “I showed Steve—the new guy—Flappy Bird and he literally never heard of it before! Can you believe it? Guy doesn’t even have a cell phone either.”

“Steve, Steve, Steve!” Tony threw his hands in the air. “What is he, your Man Crush Monday? How many fucking times are you going to bring him up?”

Tony hadn’t realized he was yelling until the librarian personally went over to him and said, “Mr. Stark, I don’t care if you crap out money from your butt, you must follow the rules like everyone else. And that means _staying quiet_.”

She turned on her heel and went back to her desk. Clint was snickering into his hand and Rhodey looked plain embarrassed. Tony scowled at the desk. Uncool to be talked down to by the librarian. Though the verbal reprimand only made Tony want to be even louder. You know, teenage rebellion responding to authority and all that jazz.

Finally getting over his giggles, Clint leaned back in his chair. “I’m so tweeting about this later. Also no, Steve’s not my man crush. You know I don’t roll that way, dude.”

Tony gulped. Rolled that way, huh? _‘I roll that way in five different directions, buddy.’_ No one knew Tony was gay, not even Rhodey, and Tony was planning on keeping it that way.

Honestly Tony had to give himself a fucking award for keeping it a secret all this time.

“You sure? ‘Cause I saw you checking out my ass the other day and I was a little skeptical.” Tony joked.

Clint made a face. “I wouldn’t touch you with a ten foot pole.”

“Second that,” Rhodey said.

Tony frowned. “You both wound me.”

“That’s a first,” Clint scoffed.

“We’ve made a dent in that armor of yours.” Rhodey said. “Achievement Unlocked: Almost halfway done wearing Tony done to human being level.”

“You’re just jealous I won Homecoming King.” Tony sniffed.

“We all know that election was rigged.” Clint held a grudge over Tony for winning his ‘deserved title’ as Clint had put it. Tony didn’t have to hack into the system and change the votes to win, he was kick ass enough to win on his own.

Tony leaned over and patted Clint on the shoulder. “Green is not a good color on you, Barton. Try blue. Anyone can rock blue. You may have to put a little more effort in, though—”

“You know, Stark. Sometimes I look at your face and go _‘Wow I really want to fucking kick you in the head with my boot’_.”

“Funny since every time I look at your face I get flashbacks to you in 7th grade with braces.” Tony sucked in a sharp breath, his face scrunching up with disgust.

Clint flushed red. “Those were dark, _dark_ days that we swore to never bring back!”

“You might have sworn. I could have possibly, maybe, definitely had my fingers crossed at the time—” Tony earned a smack in the face with a book for that comment. Not like he didn’t deserve the abuse...

He was pretty positive the librarian was smirking her wrinkly little head off.

Luckily for Tony, the conversation had veered from anything remotely similar to Steve. He didn’t have to feel so unedge that any moment he’d slip and go _‘Yeah I know, Steve. Banged him too. Great times, many laughs—well, moans actually. Lots and lots of moaning’_. Alright so he wouldn’t have dished that much info—or maybe he would have. Tony had a nasty habit of rambling—but Tony wasn’t ready to focus on anything that was tall, blond, and handsome.

He was still recovering from the shock of seeing Steve. Standing there all shy and nervous and then, when his eyes landed on Tony and Pepper, heartbroken. Devastatingly destroyed. Tony had ruined a lot of people before, but somehow Steve was different. Sad thing is, Tony’s not sure why. And that’s been bothering him and more and more as time goes by.

He’s gonna push all those worries to the side, though. Since Tony’s favorite approach to handling a problem was to carefully avoid it until it went away.

So Tony was going to avoid Steve like the plague for the rest of the year. Even if it killed him.

* * *

 

Lunch rolled around and Steve found that he felt significantly better compared to this morning. Pepper had texted him an hour before saying that third period science class wasn't the same without Steve trying to release all the frogs to their freedom. He snorted at that because that had only happened once in, like, 8th grade. Then she finished off the text saying she'd call him tonight and they'll gossip about everything and anything under the sun. That gave him a lot to look forward to.

And guess what? He actually made friends, too! In Math there was this guy named Clint Barton. A smartass with a lot of wit and a very sharp tongue. He literally walked up to Steve, eyed him up, and then punched him in the stomach.

“Oomf!” Steve flinched. He shot Clint a look, holding his abused stomach. “Was that necessary?”

“Very,” Clint had said. “Nice abs you’ve got there. Way to take a punch. I like you.” Then he turned to this guy in the back with really long hair and big, muscular arms and said: “It’s alright, Thor! You’re still the champ!”

Thor—Steve found out he was from Norway. That was pretty freaking awesome—slammed his fists on the table and bellowed with a mighty grin. “Excellent! My honor remains in tact once more!”

Apparently it was a thing of Clint’s to punch the new guys as some sort of initiation. It was weird but hey, it got Steve accepted. So that was a win. They were nice guys too, Clint and Thor. Entertaining to boot. Steve didn’t catch one word of the lesson because he was too busy watching Clint and Thor reenact the Battle of the Alamo using paper footballs and pencils.

So by the time Steve entered the cafeteria—the most socially painful experience for all new students—he didn’t have to go through a panic attack trying to find somewhere to sit. Which was great because no one ever wants to go through a panic attack anyways.

“Where...?” Steve gripped his lunch tray, eyes scanning the cafeteria. It was already pretty full. Clusters of friends dominated various lunch tables. Steve swallowed. Maybe Clint and Thor didn’t have this lunch...? Would be just Steve’s luck that he makes two new friends but can’t even sit with them or meet their other friends.

Maybe there was a bathroom stall with his name on it.

“Yo, Steve!” Steve turned around. Rhodey walked up to him, a brown paper bag in one hand, and a smile spreading wide across his face. “Whatcha doing standing around for? Come sit with us, man.”

Rhodey was a cool guy. They had gym class together third period and nothing said male camaraderie like getting sweaty together playing badminton. Steve felt the tension leave his shoulders and the paranoia wash away. He silently thanked God for sending Rhodey his way and smiled back.

“I was looking for a place to sit. So I’m really glad you came by.” Steve wasn’t about to mention his plans to eat lunch in the bathroom—but really that was only a joke. Sort of.

Rhodey motioned for Steve to follow him. “No prob, man. Being the new kid is rough. Trust me, I know.”

“You new this year?”

Rhodey shook his head, weaving through tables. “Not this year. This is the first school I’ve actually stayed more than a few months in. I’m a military kid. Parents got moved around a lot.” Rhodey shrugged. “I got the see the world and meet new people but I really wanted to settle, you know? My family’s really good friends with the Starks, so when Mr. Stark offered my dad a position to help test new weapons for the military, my dad was all for it. Needless to say we’ve stuck around ever since.”

Rhodey’s story would have been pretty heartfelt and fuzzy feeling if it weren’t for the fact that Steve had focused on one word: Stark. Then his eyes happened to zoom in on Rhodey’s table that featured Thor, Clint, Pepper, a redhead who wasn’t Pepper, a guy eating the largest bowl of chicken alfredo Steve had ever seen, and Tony.

Tony Stark.

Rhodey’s _best friend._

_‘I am so screwed.’_

Clint was the first one to notice Steve. He threw him a two-fingered salute. “Yo, Stevie. Come to sit with the cool kids?”

The redhead who wasn’t Pepper scoffed. “You can’t be referring to yourself, Clint. Do I have to remind you of Valentine’s Day 2010?”

“Dammit Nat, you bring that up every day.”

Nat smirked. “I’m keeping you in check. Mostly for my own kicks.” She turned to Steve and gave him a tiny smile. “Natasha. Pleasure to meet you, Steve.”

First thought to cross Steve’s mind was that Natasha was really pretty. Gorgeous, in fact. She had an air of smugness about her that only helped to boost her charm. Steve blushed as he took her hand and shook it. “Nice to meet you too.”

Then Steve realized with growing dread that the only empty seat was by Tony.

Steve was a lot of things, though, and coward was not one of them. Tony might have been running away from him, but Steve always liked to face a problem head on. So he squared his shoulders and headed over to the empty seat.

“Mind if I sit here?” Steve was nice. Steve was cordial. Steve was _being civil_.

Tony barely looked at him, let alone acknowledge his existence. He was too busy jabbering away at the guy with the pasta bowl.

Steve tried again. “Do you mind if I—”

“—Tony, stop being so rude. He asked you a question.” Pepper shook her head and rolled her eyes. She turned to Steve with a smile. “Take a seat, Steve. I’ve been meaning to talk to you all day.”

Steve felt his throat dried up, the way she smiled at him was nice and friendly. Steve’s mind flashed back to a month ago. With Tony sucking him off and—Pepper looked like she could take you down with a glare alone. A growing sense of dread coiled in his stomach. He’d made a terrible mistake—no, Tony had made the mistake. Tony had done the wrong. Steve had noticed the way Tony stiffened when Pepper said _‘I’ve been meaning to talk to you all day’_. Or how, when Steve went to sit down, Tony made sure to put as much distance as discreetly as he could.

And now, Steve didn’t even feel rejected. He actually felt mad.

He needed answers.

But not yet.

With a smile, Steve reached over to accept Pepper’s handshake, only to have Tony slap his hand away.

“No touchie. That’s mine.” Tony shot him a warning glare. Steve scowled.

“She’s not a piece of property, Stark.”

“I’m sorry. Who are you again? I don’t remember agreeing to this last-name basis you’re trying to pull off.”

Steve’s blood boiled. His fingers dug into the palms of his hands. Tony’s look, on the outside, was nonchalant and flippant. His eyes told a different story. They dared Steve to talk out of line. To fight back. To put on the last finishing touches to the wall Tony was trying to construct between them.

“Steve. Steve Rogers.” It was suddenly hard to breathe. “We sit next to each other in first period... I had to suffer through your obnoxious flirting the entire time.” He shot an apologetic glance towards Pepper. “No offense.”

Pepper waved her hand. “Oh no. It’s fine. I tell Tony to cut it out all the time but he never listens to me.” Pepper gave Tony a look.

“What can I say, Peppy? I can’t help it around you. Compliments and flirts just blab out of my mouth because you’re so darn beautiful.” Tony made a show of leaning over and kissing Pepper right on the lips.

The entire table chorused in complaints except for Thor, who clapped his hands and cheered for his friends’ happiness.

“Tony. That’s gross. I’m eating.” Pasta Guy said.

Tony frowned. “But I thought you loved it when I got all mushy, Brucey-kins?”

“You must have me mistaken for another Bruce.”

“Gosh, Stark.” Clint stabbed at his food. “Do you get a kick on making people sick to their stomachs?”

“And making people feel inferior,” Natasha said.

“Don’t forget the whole _‘_ I’m always right even when I’m wrong’ thing he has going on.” Rhodey said.

Tony huffed, folding his arms across his chest. “My ego is an iron fortress that will not be swayed.”

“Don’t we know it,” Bruce said.

Steve snorted.

Tony shot him a glare. “Something funny, new kid?”

“It’s Steve.”

“Do I care?” Tony cocked his head to the side, wait a minute, and answered, “Nope. I don’t. Oh well. Anyways, back to more important things.” Tony turned his body, an effective signal that yes—he was cutting Steve off from any and all forms of communication. “Bruce I would 100% agree with your theory only that I don’t.” And then he and Bruce fell into this heated debate about something scientific that Steve couldn’t pronounce and he was forgotten.

Just like that.

The rejection didn’t sting. It really, really didn’t.

At least Pepper was nice to talk too. Actually, everyone was nice compared to Tony. Natasha and Pepper gave Steve the lowdown about what the teachers were like, who to avoid and who to work hard to impress. Who was an easy A and who you had to bust your ass to get even a C+. Clint had taken over as temporary wingman, saying that if Steve didn’t at least look at this girl named Darcy’s direction, he was going to regret it.

“And by you I mean me. Because she will literally kick my ass up and down this school and I’m not about that at all.” Clint admitted.

Rhodey and Thor were pretty cool too. Thor kept on wanting to take selfies with Steve to commemorate their new friendship while Rhodey kept telling him to go with it.

“It’s like a right of passage. Only you end up with ugly selfies all over Snapchat.”

Well, that was pretty manageable.

Even though Tony was so close he felt worlds away. A distance was made and firmly cemented. Steve lazily played with his food for the rest of lunch as everyone chatted amongst themselves. There were so many questions and none of them had answers. He spared a glance over at Pepper and Tony. Pepper was engaged in conversation with Natasha. Tony’s arm laid casually over her shoulder.

They looked like a couple. The air around them was definitely a couple sort o feeling. And every once in a while Pepper would glance at Tony like he was the only person in the room. Like watching him talk so animatedly about his passions was the greatest thing in the world.

For the life of him Steve couldn’t understand why Tony would cheat on Pepper. She seemed great—wonderful even. Either Tony was an asshole or...

Nope. That’s the only option.

Now Steve was determined to know what was going through Tony’s mind at the time. If only to give Steve some peace and to the destroy the overwhelming guilt he got every time Pepper looked at him and smiled.

Because he wasn’t worthy of that smile. Not when he slept with her boyfriend.

* * *

 

Lunch ended shortly after Tony and Clint got into a heated debate about what was better, boobs or ass. It ended with Natasha stepping in and threatening to practice her new judo moves on them if they didn’t stop acting like pompous pigs. Tony made a show of hugging up Pepper and kissing her face, declaring that she had both sets so she was a winner in his books. Pepper affectionately told Tony to quit it with the empty flattery before the two headed off to their next class.

Steve went to follow Rhodey by the trash can, Clint by his heels.

“I’m sorry about Tony, man.” Rhodey dumped his food into the trash. “He’s normally not that much of an asshole.”

“Don’t get him wrong, though. He’s still very much an asshole seven days a week.” Clint said.

Steve managed a smile. “Yeah, I figured.”

“It’s weird though. Tony’s normally never that affectionate with Pepper in public.” Clint threw his arms behind his head as the three walked off to class together. “Usually he’s just like ‘insert sexual innuendo here’ and that’s it.”

“He probably felt threatened,” Rhodey offered. “You know Tony. If he’s not the big man on campus then something’s wrong with the world.”

Clint scoffed. “Not like he has anything to worry about. Sure, Steve’s hot gossip—” Steve flushed at that. Had people really been talking about him? “—but he wouldn’t hop on someone’s girlfriend, would you?” Clint shot a look at Steve.

“No, of course not!” Steve was quick to defend. _‘It’s more like I was quick to hop on the boyfriend.’_ But it looked like no one knew Tony was gay, or bi, or had the thirst for the D, so Steve kept his mouth shut.

He can respect secrets. He has no respect for liars, though.

Rhodey patted Steve on the back. “Don’t mind him, alright? Tony’s got a lot of layers. Like an onion. Give him a couple of days and he’ll warm up to you like butter on a frying pan.”

“Ugh, let’s not associate grease with Tony.” Clint paused, then grinned. “On second thought. Yes let’s associate Tony with greasy grease.”

They all laughed, but Steve’s mind was still trained on what Clint said earlier. _“It’s weird, though. Tony’s normally never that affectionate with Pepper in public”_. So why the sudden change in behavior? Steve’s best guess was that Tony was trying to cover up his guilt by being super mushy with Pepper. Then Steve inwardly went into hysterics because, guilt? Tony Stark? Steve had barely known the guy for a few hours and he already knew that guilt and Tony were not symbiotic creatures.

 _‘Well, at least I know I’m getting to him.’_ Though whether or not that was a bad thing Steve didn’t know yet.

* * *

 

Plan _'Avoid-the-fuck-out-of-Steve-until-you-die-or-graduate (whichever happens first)'_ was successful. Never doubt Tony’s determination to get the job done. If he didn’t want to see you Tony would literally go ninja and you’d never see him again. He made sure to memorize Steve’s classes and paths just for the sake of avoiding awkward cross-ins.

And he was doing a pretty damn good job.

The last thing Tony had to survive was the end of the day. His locker was on the most congested floor of the school. People normally stopped to chat with the heir to the Stark throne. Most of the time they came to talk about the finer details of Tony’s parties. Which, by the way, Tony was throwing a big bash on Saturday night. Well, he decided to throw one last minute. Because best laid plans are made last minute and don’t let anyone tell you differently. One word that your parents were out of town and everyone assumed you were getting turned up.

In Tony’s case, that’s less than false.

“See ya Saturday,” Tony waved goodbye to some kid. Barney? Backy? Eh, whatever. Didn’t matter. Tony sucked with names anyways.

Hypothetically speaking Tony had worked the perfect simulation for how long he could stay at his locker before Steve had a chance of showing up. After running through it about five millions times, the average time was about... oh five point f—

“Tony,” a hand clamped on Tony’s shoulders. Tony jumped, banging his head on the inside of his locker.

“Fuck!” Tony rubbed at his head, a frown marring his face. Great. He was going to feel that one for a few hours.

Steve, the bastard, dared to look sympathetic. “Oh gosh. Um, sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“—Nope. Shut up. My head hurts.” He rubbed at his throbbing head. “Next time let’s not sneak up on me, yeah, new kid?”

A frown. “It’s Ste—”

“—Don’t care.” Tony slammed his locker shut. His phone buzzed twice but he ignored it. “If you want something you’ll have to schedule an appointment two weeks in advance.”

A vein in Steve’s jaw jumped. ‘Count to 10 twenty times.’ “Sorry. Didn’t realize you were so important. It’ll only take a few minutes.”

“I don’t have a few minutes.”

“Well I do,” Steve placed a hand by Tony’s shoulder, visibly trapping him. Tony’s body went on the alert, eyes glowering, pulse rapidly increasing. He hated being boxed in. “Talk with me. A few minutes, that’s all I ask.”

Tony’s eyes narrowed. “And if I don’t?” he asked spitefully.

Steve grinned, a sad little thing. The light slightly dimmed from his eyes. He leaned in close, his words whispered against Tony’s ear. “I’ll spill.”

And that’s it. That’s all Steve had to say to metaphorically—and quite literally—pin him between a very large boulder and a hard place. Images flashed through his mind. Ruin and destruction and the sharp, disappointing glare of his father. Tony’s mouth clamped shut. His grip around his bag tightened considerably.

“Are you threatening me, Rogers?”

“Probably.”

“Fine,” Tony hissed, stepping out of Steve’s trap. He made sure to stand himself a little taller. Damn Steve and his extra few inches of height. “We’ll talk. You have five minutes.”

He didn’t turn around to see the pleased smile on Steve’s face. The smugness radiated with the force of the sun and slammed into Tony’s back. Steve wanted to talk? Okay fine. He’d talk. Tell Steve that what happened in Purgatory was a one time thing. A fluke. That this whole _‘Let’s-follow-Tony-all-damn-day’_ thing had to stop. Like, now. And that nothing, absolutely nothing, that occurred between them meant anything more significant than a quick fuck.

Then he’ll wipe his hands off of Steve for good. No more worries, no more problems.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the support guys! (:


	3. Best Laid Plans Always Go to Shit

Steve’s nerves were a bag full of cats as he followed Tony to wherever they were going. He hadn’t thought his threat would work. Tony seemed too pigheaded, too stubborn, Steve would expected to be laughed at rather than having his requests begrudgingly accepting. But this was good. Progress was always good. Steve could finally figure out what the crap was up with Tony, straighten things out, and then...

Well, the only outcome Steve could see coming from this was Tony forever slamming the door in his face. But that was nothing new at this stage.

Finally, Tony brought them to a dumpster. The situation would have been hilarious if Steve wasn’t trying to control his breathing from the smell.

“So. You wanna talk? Talk.” Tony folded his arms across his chest. His entire body language read _threatened and ready to fight_. Steve inwardly sighed. He wasn’t _looking_ for a fight. All he wanted was answers. That would be a battle all of its own.

Steve sucked in a large breath. “You’ve been... avoiding me,” he started.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Can’t avoid someone you don’t know.”

“No. That’s the problem. You _do_ know me. Well. Intimately, in fact.” Steve took another breath. “Tony—”

“—Don’t call me by my first name.”

“What? Wait, why?”

“Because you don’t deserve to.”

“I don’t deserve—” Steve was at a loss for words.

“—That’s right. You don’t.” Tony interrupted once again. “We’re not close, therefore first name basis is a no-go.”

“We’re not close...? _**We’re not close?!**_ ” Was Steve’s voice rising or was that just his imagination? A flush of heat ran down the back of Steve’s neck. His fists shook. “Tony we had sex!” He yelled.

Tony freaked out, slapping a hand over Steve’s mouth. His eyes darted from left to right, anxiety written across his features. “Shut _up_. Do you want all of Manhattan tweeting about this?”

Steve held back the urge to bite Tony’s hand; hard. Instead, he yanked the offending appendage off his mouth and shot Tony a dirty look. “I get it Tony. You have a secret that you want to protect. I get that. But if you think I’m just going to sit there drowning in guilt while you flirt with your girlfriend, you’re out of your damn mind!” He took several deep breaths, his heart rate pattering out of control. Anger was definitely not his thing. “I just want to know why you did it. Don’t you love Pepper?” he asked quietly.

_Why did you sleep with me? Why did you make me like—_

Seconds spanned into fathomless hours between them. Tony’s tongue ran along the inside of his mouth. Steve could see the gears working and grinding. Tony was formulating an answer. One that would seemingly appease Steve and his emotions. Time seemed to slow down to a turtle’s pace before Tony spoke again. Steve forgot how to breathe.

“Aren’t I supposed to?” Tony started. His eyes weren’t looking at Steve. “She’s my girlfriend. We’ve been dating for a year now. Kind of hard not to love her.”

“Of course. That’s why you slept with me,” Steve spat out bitterly.

Tony’s eyes snapped up. “It was a fluke.”

“You don’t sleep with people on a fluke, Tony. Just tell me why you did it!”

“I don’t have to explain myself to you, Rogers!” Tony yelled, his voice in slight hysterics. “How are you not getting it through your thick, meaty skull? You were a _quick fuck_. When I went home the next morning I didn’t even remember your name. What we did meant nothing. So do me a favor and leave me alone, yeah? Clingliness is unattractive to a fault.” Tony hissed. He bristled and went to step passed Steve.

Steve wouldn’t allow it. He grabbed Tony by the shoulder, holding him in place.

“Let go, dammit!”

“No!” Steve backed Tony against a wall. He hated using violence but honestly at this stage of the game the only way to get Tony to listen would be by force. “Dammit, Stark! Listen to me. Listen for one second in your damn life. I get it, alright? We fucked. We were a one night thing. _I understand that_. What I don’t like is the fact that Pepper doesn’t know. That you went behind her back and cheated on her. If you’re supposed to ‘love’ her then some damn common sense should have told you that cheating is a no go! So tell me. Tell me what fucking logic connected the wires in your head to say it’s okay to screw with other people when you’re _already seeing somebody else?!_ ”

There was a loud ringing in Steve’s ear. His breath was coming out in short, heavy pants. A horrible flush of heat conquered his cheeks. Furious didn’t even begin to describe the terrible numbness dancing through his system. Every word burned. Having to admit that they were nothing more than fuck buddies destroyed a part of Steve’s heart he never knew exist. The tiny part of him that wanted Tony and Steve to be Tony and Steve. Together. Seamlessly inseparable. More than nothing and a little better than something.

The truth hurt. Like getting hit by a freight train on your birthday sort of hurt.

Tony’s expression was unreadable. A giant, blank canvas void of any color. The air felt stale and heavy on Steve’s shoulders. For a moment, a brief second, a blip of time, Steve allowed himself to study Tony. To memorize the curves and slopes and creases in his face. The sharpness in his jaw. The fiery smolder in his eyes. Beautiful didn’t even begin to describe how Tony looked. Steve wanted to punch himself for even thinking about kissing Tony in this short space—

“You’re too close.”

“What?” Steve blinked.

Tony snorted. He pushed at Steve’s shoulder. “Too. Close. Are you deaf? Move.”

He hadn’t noticed he was so close. Feeling slightly embarrassed, Steve took a step back. Tony ran a hand through his hair.

“You never answered my question,” Steve whispered.

Tony froze. “I don’t need to justify myself for you.”

“No. You do. Because you brought me into this. And when this crash and burns, I’ll go down with you and I won’t have any say about it.”

“It won’t crash and burn, Rogers. See? That’s the difference between you and me. You’re all about right and wrong. I’m all about what does Tony want to do, and how is Tony going to do it. You’re right. Douchebag move of me to cheat on Pepper. But what she doesn’t know, won’t hurt her, right?”

“Until it blows up in your face.” Steve insisted.

“So what? You want me to tell her? Do you want me to break her heart, Rogers? Then we can be best boyfriends in the entire world, huh?” Now Tony was the one doing the pressing against the wall. “I. Can’t. Do. That.” Tony emphasized every word with a jab to Steve’s chest. “There are too many things at stake for me to say ‘fuck it’ now. If you’re looking for an apology about what happened at Purgatory then feel free to bend over because I’ll shove it right up your ass.”

A weakness fell over Steve. He took a long, laboring sigh. His shoulders drooped and his eyes locked downwards. Man, his shoes were getting really dirty. Should clean them sometime. Steve worried his bottom lip. “Okay,” his voice was broken and wreaked and tired.

Just like Steve.

Tony rolled back his shoulders. “Good. Great... Fantastic. Are we done here?”

“Yeah.” Steve’s throat was the Sahara Desert with cactus’s included. Maybe a giant black hole would rip open and swallow him whole, but even that wouldn’t numb the terrible burn stampeding around in his stomach.

He felt like he should have said ‘Bye’ or ‘See ya?’ or ‘Thanks for stamping out any flame of affection I ever had for you, asshole’ but it wouldn’t have mattered. Tony was already on his phone, fingers flying to return messages and calls.

“Oh. It’s Pep. Gotta take this.”

And then it was over, just like that.

* * *

 

To say things were icy back at Stark Tower would probably an understatement. Dinner with the Starks ended with Howard reminding Tony once again how important it was that Tony stuck to the plan.

“I expect great things from you, Tony. The world expects great things from you. It’s your job to deliver what they expect and more. And that means keeping your head screwed on right. Focused. Less time goofing off with those nuisances of yours and more time with your head in the books.”

“They’re called _friends_ , Dad.” Tony muttered. His eyes were trained on the big, flat screen before him. Nothing screamed family fun like watching lions slaughter antelope live. “And I don’t need studying. Super genius, remember?”

“No genius is without flaws. A realist believes that their knowledge is incomparable and thus ceases to learn. An idealist knows that the limits to what we as human beings can comprehend are fathomless, and to satisfy their hunger they continue to study and learn. Stark men are nothing but idealists.”

The next three hours consisted of Howard giving his nobel-prize winning monologue on how perfection was anticipated and more. Tony spent half the time watching Jeopardy. Slap a name tag on him, give him a buzzer, and the boy would smoke everyone on that game show. The other half of the time was spent rewinding through his talk with Steve.

Not the best talks he’s ever had, minus the one time he had a yelling match at Rhodey while drunk and threw up on every piece of furniture Rhodey owned. That was a fun time. Tony had indefinitely severed all ties with Steve. All it took were a few well constructed truths and spoon fed lies to pacify the guy. And well, if Tony walked away feeling at least one iota of guilt then he’d never admit to it in front of a jury.

He couldn’t deny it, though. The horrible ice forming in the pit of his stomach whenever his mind drifted back to their talk. How Steve looked so tired and worn and downright broken. Tony wasn’t heartless. He wasn’t totally apathetic to Steve’s pain. If things were different, if Tony didn’t have the entire fate of the modern world apparently resting on his shoulders, if Howard was just a little more understanding (if, if, and so many more ifs), then maybe they could be something. Then maybe Tony wouldn’t have to visit Purgatory every other Saturday to shed off his armor and be him. Then maybe he could look at Steve and not feel sick to his stomach whenever that damn fluttering in his chest rose out of the ashes like a phoenix.

It can’t happen. It won’t happen. And as Tony flipped the station to giant robots fighting to defend the universe, he signed, stamped, and sealed the envelope shut on ever feeling anything for Steve again.

But dammit if his ass didn’t look good in those jeans today—

* * *

_“And this is why we don’t hook up with random strangers at gay night clubs, Steve.”_

“It’s not like I planned to do it, Peggs! And besides, he came onto me first.” Thursday nights were weekly ‘Let’s inform Peggy of all the drama called Steve Roger’s life’ where Steve basically sat on the phone for an hour and a half, ranted, and then had Peggy lay down the law.

It was really refreshing, to be honest.

Peggy snorted. _“You accepted him. And that’s that. Though I thought your douche bag sensors would be better than this. Should have brought me along. I can spot out assholes a mile away.”_

“Sure, Peggy. Before I get my heart ripped out next time I’ll make sure to bring you along so you can steer me away from that painful punch in the gut.” He had spilled everything to Peggy about the Tony Stark incident. He spent half the conversation having Peggy chew him out for being stupid, and the other half listening to her rant about how Steve deserved to be treated better.

_“Only you would fall for a guy who’s already dating someone else—and female to boot! Geez, Rogers. When did you become such a masochist?”_

“Around the same time we became friends.”

 _“Hilarious.”_ Peggy drawled. Steve could just picture Peggy sitting on her bean bag, popping bubble gum with her slender finger twirling a piece of red curls, her lips quirked in amusement. _“So what’s going down now? Are you guys friends or more than friends or friends with benefits?”_

Steve ignored the stinging in in his chest. “None of the above. He made it very clear he wants nothing to do with me.”

_“Is he stupid? You’re the total package! Sweet, handsome, nice butt—”_

“Peggy!”

_“What? You do. Can’t deny the facts when you were voted ‘Cutest Male Booty’ last year.”_

A red flush creeped along Steve’s ears. He ran a hand down his face, groaning into the palm. “Peggy. God. Is that even a thing?”

_“Yes, considering I helped to run it. Anyway, enough about your butt. Let’s get to the real problem. What are you going to do now?”_

Steve bit his bottom lip. He was asking himself that very same question. Common sense said let it go. Move on. Conceal don’t feel and all that jazz. Desire was pushing Steve forward. Telling him that the turbulent feelings of want and need and cravings had to be pursued. Because you don’t meet someone who makes you feel so alive in the span of a few hours everyday.

Waking up next to Tony was the greatest three seconds of his life. He imagined in that tiny space of time being curled against Tony, arms looped around his waist, his nose buried in Tony’s neck. He’d wake up, and Tony would be there. And he’d smile. Smile like being with Steve was the same as taking your first sip of coffee in the morning. They’d make corny jokes and point out each other’s love bites and then Tony would roll on top of him and—

_“Steve. Earth to Steve. Are you still with me or have you floated out of orbit?”_

Good thing Peggy wasn’t here or else she’d make fun of the blush dominating half of Steve’s faces. “Uh. Yeah. Yeah I am. Sorry, was... thinking.”

_“And?”_

“And, what? There’s nothing for me to do, Peggy. He made it very clear he wants nothing to do with me.” And there comes that familiar burn that runs down Steve’s throat every time he thinks back to that cold, uninteresting glare Tony was so good at delivering. He grip on the phone got tighter.

 _“If there’s one thing I know about boys Steve—and this is true for every female who has ever met a boy ever—is that they are stupid. Downright idiotic. Rarely do they mean what they say. So ignore it and keep prodding until you find the truth.”_ Peggy said. A beat later, _“Do you like him?”_

Steve literally flinched. “I don’t know.” Damn, he couldn’t even convince himself.

 _“Liar.”_ Can’t convince Peggy either, apparently.

He sighed. “If you know why even ask?”

_“I like to know I’m right.”_

* * *

 

About a week and a half passed since The Dumpster happened and the relationship between Tony and Steve had progressed to about, oh, nonexistent. As in they were both experts at pretending the other wasn’t actual there. Did they hit any problems? No, man. They were both solid gold even when they sat next to each during first period. Steve was content on taking notes and boring holes into the chalkboard and Tony was content on being, well, Tony.

It was perfect, really.

So perfect that everyone started to notice it a few days in. Only one person actually had the balls to approach Tony about it.

Natasha was the first to speak. She cornered Tony in the hallway using what—Tony assumed—were her extensive ninja skills to track him down.

“What’s up with you and Steve?”

“Shit, Nat! Can you not jump out at me like that? I’m trying to _avoid_ dying before 21.”

Natasha rolled her eyes. “Answer the question, Stark.”

“There’s nothing going on. Steve and I are super pals. That’s like, ten tiers higher than best friends.”

“Right. So you guys are completely ignoring one another because you’re best buddies? Ah, it makes so much sense now.”

“I really don’t understand how Barton handles your sassiness. Does it come with an off switch?”

“Do you ever stop being an asshole?” she cocked an eyebrow.

Good point. Tony’s nostrils flared. “Alright. Ten points to Slytherin for you. Seriously, though. I don’t get what you’re trying to get at here.”

Natasha folded her arms. The look on her face was deadly determined and from that moment Tony knew he was so fucking screwed. “I see how you treat people you don’t like, Tony. You don’t cut them out of your vision completely. You at least have the common decency to poke fun at them or remind them how quote on quote ‘stupid’ they are in comparison to you. It’s not like that with Steve. No quips, no taunts, no jabs. _Nothing_. It’s unsettling.”

“Aw,” Tony smiled thinly. “You know me so well, Natasha. Why you make my heart do the gross thing where it almost goes into cardiac arrest.”

“Charming,” Natasha drawled. “Look, you have a lot of issues dealing with things that exceed the childish way of handling them. So I’ll cut it short by saying cut the guy some slack. He’s nice. I don’t know why you’re being so cold to him.”

Tony frowned. “I don’t remember electing you as my personal friend checker. I don’t like Steve? Big whoop. I don’t like 98.2% of this school. My like for Clint fluctuates daily. There’s nothing for you to worry about because there’s nothing going on between me and Steve. Simple as that.”

The bell rang and that was Tony’s cue to haul ass and get out of there before Natasha did the creepy mind-Jedi thing and scraped Tony’s brain.

“Welp. This was definitely the worst chat I’ve ever had ever.” No, chatting with Steve behind the dumpster was the worst chat in the history of chats. “But I gotta jet. Coulson will literally sacrifice me in front of the entire class if I don’t get make it before the bell.”

Before he could book it into the next century, Natasha grabbed him by the arm. Her glare was set in stone. “I’m going to figure out what’s going on. And when I do you’ll be very sorry for lying to me.”

And that was the terrifying part. Natasha could easily fire lasers into Tony’s skull and pick apart his brain and figure out all his deep dark secrets. She could spot the cracks quicker than Tony could find a way to cover them. She was dangerous that way. And as much as Tony loved her in the whole ‘Don’t kill me with your pinky toe I’ll try to control myself’ sort of way, he couldn’t afford keeping her so... close.

He couldn’t afford to keep anyone that close.

Which was probably why he pushed Steve so far away he was practically floating in the atmosphere by now.

So he did what he did best. He built up walls, fortresses, towers. All with a smile. “Kay, Nat. You tell me when you find something juicy. I promise to add it onto my about on Facebook. Just for you.” He turned on his heel and headed for class, no doubt earning himself a spot on Natasha’s Hit List for that comment but that was a necessary evil to pay.

* * *

 

 

The second bell rang and Tony had barely made it through the door before Coulson started to write tonight’s assignment the chalkboard in big, block letters.

**WWII AND THE EFFECT IT HAD ON THE ALLIES AND AXIS POWERS POST WAR.**

“Mr. Stark. A pleasure to have you finally join us. I assume you were living up the peak of teenage rebellion by coming late to my class, hm?” Tony was 120% that Coulson had eagle eyes in the back of his head.

The class chuckled. Tony shot them all a cheeky grin—Steve was in his class and he may or may not have been somewhat aware of how his blue v-neck hugged him in so many nice, er, stupid places—and gave them a two finger salute.

“You know me, Coulson. I like to push my limits.”

“Hilarious, Stark. But I’d advise you not to push mine. Take your seat.” The great and scary thing about Coulson was that he could be intimidating without even looking at you. Tony could feel the scathing look of disappointment and mild irritation from how Coulson put an extra screech to his chalkboard writing.

Honestly he was sort of proud of himself for making Coulson snap like that. Kind of like a game where, if Tony could make Coulson break his scarily cold composure, he gave himself a cookie. And if he didn’t succeed, well, he still gave himself a cookie because cookies should never be withheld.

Tony sauntered to his seat in the back. Once again following high school social standards where the cool punks loiter in the back. This was one of the few classes he shared with just Steve Rogers. There was no Pepper for Tony to use in his role as ‘Perfect Straight Son’. No Rhodey to goof around with. No Banner to banter with. Hell, he didn’t even have Thor and that was a bundle of entertainment in one, blond, foreign package.

Luckily Steve sat in the front so Tony didn’t have to suffer through how close their bodies were and how he couldn’t touch—er, focus because he was too busy ignoring the guy. Downside? Steve sat directly in front of him, five spaces up by the blackboard. Do you know how perfect the back of his head is? All clean shaven and blond and fucking soft to touch.

Tony swore his fingers were twitching at the memory of running through them again.

And then that feeling of guilt steamrolled by and knocked Tony down 20,000 feet under. That’s the sucky part of emotions. You could be cold and cynical but the minute you let your mind wander it takes you places where you purposefully avoided and then you’re fucked. Tony bit his lip and tried to really focus as Coulson started explaining the basics of the project. But all he could think about was Purgatory and Steve and being with Steve at Purgatory and how great being fucked by Steve was and how he had essentially torn out the guy 52 different new ones.

 _‘Wow, I’m such an asshole.’_ Understatement of the century.

He reminded himself, though, as Coulson told the class that they’d be working in groups of two picked by him, that breaking Steve’s heart was necessary. Just like deflecting Natasha’s questions and concerns was necessary. And going behind Pepper’s back and cheating was necessary. And actually dating Pepper to appease his father’s paranoid concerns were necessary.

Because then he’d be perfect. Free from disappointment. And he’d never have to worry about being a failure to his father.

A stupid price to pay for pretending to be someone you’re not.

Tony glanced down at the stack of papers placed on his desk. He raised his hand and spoke without waiting to be called on. “Um, Coulson. I have a question.”

Coulson sighed in exasperation. “No, Stark. You can’t opt out of this assignment. Stop asking me everytime I give you a new project.”

“But this one is boring!” Tony whined. The class chuckled at that and Tony could feel himself grinning. Though he wanted one person to look at him—if only a little bit.

“You say that everytime.”

“Well this time I mean it. Can I do my project on the history of how the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders came into existence?”

“No,” Coulson immediately shot down. “If you think this project is so simple you’ll have no problem getting an A+. Am I right?” He cocked an eyebrow, challenging Tony to step up and take the bait.

Which he did. Hook line and sinker. “I’ll go above and beyond and aim for an A++.”

“Those don’t exist.”

“They will after this project.”

Thankfully, killing students because they annoyed you to kingdom come was against the law so Coulson couldn’t ninja throw the piece of chalk he was crushing in his hand at Tony. Instead Coulson settled for ignoring Tony as he handed out the packet outlining what he wanted to see for the project.

Tony accepted the packet indifferently, flipping through the pages with a bored look in his eyes. Same old stuff every teacher required. A five-minute presentation defending your position, plus a four-page paper that goes into greater depths about your thesis, opinion, and facts to back you up. What Coulson called “requirement” Tony scoffed and threw it over in the “busy work” pile. He could probably create an algorithm that’d create the perfect project to hand over to Coulson.

But the last time he tried that Coulson personally threatened to give Tony an F for the rest of the semester and although Tony liked playing with fire, the horrible punishment Howard would no doubt dish out on him for failing was enough of a sentiment to whip Tony into shape.

Begrudgingly of course.

Coulson strode back to the board, placing his hands firmly spread out on the desk. His eyes scanned each and every student, his lips pulled into a taut smile. “Now comes the fun part. Partners. And since this classroom is a dictatorship, I’ll be picking your partners.”

That earned a couple groans from a few students. Coulson was infamous for putting people who hated each other together. Either he was aware of the tension and didn’t care about it, or had his head shoved so far up his ass he wouldn’t be able to tell left from right. Tony banked on the latter.

As Coulson read through the list, some people were spared but a majority of students were split up with either people outside their friend group or people they couldn’t stand. Tony tapped his pencil against the desk rapidly. Steve still wasn’t paired with someone yet. Neither was Tony. Dumb hope told Tony that maybe he’d get off on a lucky break and be paired with Crazy Carl. And Steve would get paired with his right hand and then he’d never have to worry about--

“Steve Rogers, your partner is Tony Stark.” Coulson’s monotone voice was sharp and cutting to Tony’s ears. His knee jerked into the desk, causing a loud bang. All eyes turned on Tony, including Steve’s, and Tony couldn’t find it in himself to look away.

They held each other’s gazes for what seemed like years. He couldn’t read what was going through Steve’s head and that freaking unnerved Tony. This was going to be the pits. No, worse than the pits. This was literally Coulson opening up the fiery bowels of Hell and pushing Tony into it to meet his demise. He couldn’t work with Steve on this project. His entire plan would go right down the drain. There was a reason why Tony was going to such lengths to keep Steve away.

Because if he kept him any closer Tony was going to go mad with desire. And what Tony wanted heavily contrasted to what Tony needed to do.

Tony’s hand instantly shot into the air. “Coulson!”

Coulson took a sharp breath. “What is it, Stark?”

“I can’t work with Rogers. We’re not compatible. Think mixing oil with water but ten times worse.” Tony tried to ignore the harsh burn running down his spine from the words tumbling out of his throat that weren’t necessarily true. Or the look Steve was boring into Tony that screamed disappointment and hurt.

Sadly, Coulson was not having any of Tony’s childish antics. He shook his head. “Sometimes you get thrown into situations where you don’t necessarily like the other person, but to get the job done you’ll have to suck up any preconceived notions and shove them to the side. I will not change my mind about your partnership. Either learn to get along with Rogers or take an F for the rest of the semester.” With sparing Tony another glance, Coulson turned his attention to the rest of the class. He went through his expectations and the due date for the project.

Two weeks from today. Tony had to suffer two weeks working with Steve.

Because apparently someone, somewhere, wanted Tony to man up and face his problems.

Well fuck that, Tony can keep this game playing forever. He was an iron wall of guts and determination. So no way was his stomach lurching with the impossible idea of excitement.

And no way was Tony going to acknowledge the little part of him that was actually looking forward to this project. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, folks! AP exams were this week so I had to put all my energy and time into studying. But now the rest of the year is gonna be a breeze so more updates! Thank you all for your comments, kudos, and support. And terribly sorry about how stubborn Tony's being, he'll break sooner or later ;).


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